Acclaimed TV actor and comedian Masood Khawaja is no more. He died at a government hospital in Rawalpindi on June 20 due to kidney failure only months after being told by doctors that he needed a transplant for which he not only required a donor but huge finances too.

“I am trying to arrange Rs2 million for my treatment,” Khawaja had told one of his friends this Eid, which turned out to be his last.

Despite the seriousness of his illness, he talked about his ailment and dialysis in a very light-hearted way.

The fact that Khawaja, who was in his 50s, did not even have Rs2 million for his treatment and lived in a rented house speaks volumes about the fate of artists in our society.

He brought smile to his fans throughout the world, especially in the Potohar region, but when he needed a smile himself, there was no one.

“Artists are very sensitive in nature and this society is extremely insensitive towards them,” Khawaja had told his friends when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak and many stage artists were on the verge of starvation due to lack of work.

Masood Khawaja had been making efforts to set up a welfare association to generate funds for such entertainers.

While pleading his case, Khawaja had specifically given the example of world-renowned comedian Umar Sharif who had to literally beg before the government for financial assistance for his treatment. Though, Mr Sharif was provided help by the Sindh government and arrangements were made to take him to the US, he died in a hospital in Germany before reaching there.

Little did Khawaja know that a few months later he would himself be inflicted by a life-threatening disease and would also face society’s insensitivity.

The actor was last seen on television only three days before his death when a TV reporter reached his home after getting news about his deteriorating health. He was lying on his bed, weak and unable to speak properly.

“I will not make any appeal; in fact I will forcefully demand of the governmentas I am a regular taxpayer,” said Khawaja when the reporter asked him if he would seek financial help.

“People paid taxes after receiving their entire amount, whereas we, artists, would get cheques after tax deduction,” he said.

Such was his self respect that he told the reporter not to air his interview in a way that viewers think of it as being planned and was meant for financial help.

According to his colleagues and friends, he was a true son of Potohar and despite being pushed by them to move to Lahore and Karachi for better opportunities, he preferred to stay in his hometown.

Khawaja was the youngest among his 11 brothers and sisters and took up acting as a career following the footsteps of his two elder brothers.

Despite knowing the challenges he would face in the field of acting, he ventured into it after giving up a secure job in the PTCL in the 1990s.

He gained prominence from the PTV play,Guest House, in which he performed the role of a policeman. After that he became a regular member of the team of Uncle Sargam-fame Farooq Qaiser and performed with him on TV and stage throughout the country. He, however, wanted to do something which he could call his own and therefore started his own live showKhawaja Online.

It was a unique comedy show in which Khawaja would receive live telephone calls of viewers. Such was its popularity that the show managed to complete 1,000 episodes.

Despite his illness, Khawaja continued to perform on stage and was last seen in a play at the Rawalpindi Arts Council on June 9. He had reached the stage directly from the hospital after undergoing dialysis. He had even spoken at the memorial reference held for another well-known actor from Potohar region, Sajjad Kishwar, on June 1.

“Khawaja was not only an artist, but also a social worker,” said Yar Mohammad Khan, a local artist, writer and director who had worked with him for several years.

The vacuum left by his death can never be filled, he added.

Another renowned TV and stage artist Zulqarnain Hayder termed Khawaja a genius who always gave respect to his seniors.

Mr Hayder, who had written some of the episodes ofKhawaja Onlineand acted in them, was of the view that anyone could become famous, but very few became popular.

“Khawaja was both famous and popular,” he said.

Masood Khawaja has left behind a widow, two daughters and a son.

Renowned social worker and founder of Pakistan Sweet Home Zamurud Khan, who had arranged Khawaja’s funeral, had announced that he would look after the late artist’s family as “looking after orphans was his mission”.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022